Emotional moment Taylor Swift connects with fans – sends one word message to fans

Hi, I’m Taylor.”

It’s a simple introduction, for someone who clearly needs none.

It came early during Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Edition), which we finally watched as a family on Disney+. I’m sure it’s not at all like being there in person, but the entire concert is impressive. It’s not easy to get on stage for over three hours and maintain that level of energy, but Swift makes it look effortless.

As impressive as the concert is, that introduction really stuck out. As she introduced herself to her fans, she used just her first name. To them, she isn’t Taylor Swift–the brand–she’s just Taylor.

Look, let’s be honest–Swift doesn’t have to introduce herself–at least, not to this audience. It’s not like anyone in the stadium doesn’t know who she is. Of course, they do. Never mind that they all spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to be there to see her. It’s her name is on the posters.

But, when she did welcome her fans and introduce herself, she chose one word that says so much about the type of relationship she wanted to have with the people who came to see her. Swift is one of the world’s most recognizable people and one of its most successful musicians. Taylor Swift is a brand. She’s a performer you pay money to watch entertain you. Taylor–on the other hand–is your friend that you want to hang out with for a few hours. With her fans, Swift wanted to make it clear that she is the latter.

That’s an important distinction because–for Swift–it has always been about building a personal connection with her fans. Well, at least as personal a connection as you can have with one of the most famous people on earth, who has millions of fans.

Clearly, Swift isn’t on a “first name basis” with everyone in that room–that would be impossible. Still, she wants her fans to feel as though they are, and that feeling is important. Swift has built her entire brand on making her fans feel like friends. And, she has done a better job of cultivating that relationship than almost any other brand I can think of.

Swift understands the emotional attachment her fans have with her. Even though they’ve never met personally, they “feel” as though they have because they have followed her career, and her music has become a part of many of the important memories of their lives.

As my colleague Justin Bariso writes, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotions effectively. It’s a form of self-awareness that deals with how we feel about–and react to–different situations. In this case, Swift understands the emotional connection she has with her fans and is intentional about cultivating that connection.

There’s a valuable lesson there for anyone who interacts with other people–which means it should probably apply to all of us. You get to set the tone of a relationship by the way you introduce yourself. When you invite people to call. You by your first name, it breaks down barriers, makes people feel welcome and invites a level of familiarity that goes beyond just knowing what to call someone. Your first name is personal.

Look, I get that there are times when it would feel uncomfortable to have someone call you by your first name. There are situations where you don’t want to have that much familiarity with everyone you meet. On the other hand, if you want to make someone feel as though they are important or special to you, get on a first-name basis as quickly as you can.

In this case, Swift is telling her fans that they are more than just people engaged in a transactional relationship. They are friends.